One of the many oddities of working in fashion is that we get two chances to talk about trends. For Spring/Summer 2012, the first chance came in September/ October last year when designers were showing their collections for the forthcoming season, which is NOW. Meaning that the time has come to revisit and properly embrace what we saw seven months ago by actually buying into what we fell in love with on the catwalks - whether it's the designer real deal or the high street's interpretation.
As is the FEAL way, we told you what you'd be buying now as soon as we spotted it on the catwalk but that was a long time ago. We thought that you might like to look back at our first thoughts on SS12 now that we can all get in on the action...
This trend was so huge we did two posts on it . Unsurprisingly, it's all over the high street. Our favourite is Jaeger Boutique's bright white, ribbon waisted dress. This would see you through all manner of Summer pursuits, just don't go rolling in the grass.
Print is still huge. Florals are a classic but if you want to be exactly on the SS12 pulse then a silky paisley or tropical jungle print are the ones to go for...
This one was never going to be easy to translate - who has time to encrust their spine with pearls each morning or carry about clusters of coral to work a trend? Nods to sea life with watery colours, embellishments and rope details seems like the most sensible way to channel the SS12 mermaid fantasy. Unless you have a fancy dress party coming up, in which case, go all out.
Pearls backstage at Chanel (from http://somethingfrench.tumblr.com/)
Alexander McQueen SS12- coral encrusted mermaids (catwalking.com)
A quick scout of the shops this weekend threw up plenty of evidence that crop tops are a trend pretty much every high street store has plumped for. We shared 8-minute abs with you at the time but really, who is actually ready for this? If you're not a 15 year old gymnast then maybe proceed with caution e.g a looser crop top worn over a high waist skirt/ short or under a skinny vest.
Two of the biggest colours for SS12. I am brightening up today in a Peeps colour jumper. The combination of the two, like wearing your very own seaside horizon, was done most brilliantly by Jonathan Saunders.
First up this week, huge congratulations to British fashion's Fairy Godmother, Lulu Kennedy who made the trip to visit the Queen at Buckingham Palace to receive her MBE yesterday. Naturally, it was up to former Fashion East participants to dress Lulu for the occasion- it was Michael van der Ham and Roksanda Ilincic for the palace and Jonathan Saunders for the Madhatters tea party at The Sanderson. .
Lulu Kennedy at the palace (image from telegraph.co.uk)
Stella at yesterday's launch in her SS12 pjs, with Phillip Odowu and Jessica Ennis (image from dailymail.co.uk)
In other big British fashion news this week, Stella McCartney has finally unveiled the Team GB kit for this summer's Olympic and Paralympic games- the very first time that a fashion designer has had the role. This was no quiet launch either- a fashion show starring some of the UK's biggest medal hopes including Victoria Pendleton and Jessica Ennis took place at The Tower of London. It's Stella's biggest collection yet, comprising 590 different items of kit catering for over 900 athletes and all their various sports. So far, it is Stella's reinterpretation of the Union Jack which has caused most concern. The Daily Mail reports that 'there is a worrying lack of red from the Union Jack', while Hadley Freeman at The Guardian noted 'the running pants for women with the flag in a gynaecological spot, (are) surely an offence that could result in one being sent to the tower'.
I'm quite a fan of the red trainers myself. Jessica Ennis in her Stella/ Adidas kit
Madonna by Mert and Marcus (image from www.imageamplified.com)
The Mantyhose in action (image from www.imageamplified.com)
You thought all fashion hybrids had been explored? The jegging, the tregging and the shoot (shoe boot) to name but a few. Well, this week Emilio Cavallini and Madonna brought 'mantyhose' to the world. That's 'tights for boys' to you and I. Interesting. The new invention is exhibited in the video for Girl Gone Wild, directed by Mert and Marcus. It's the second single from the forthcoming MDNA album.
Ever since Carine Roitfeld left the helm at French Vogue, it's been great fun finding out about her latest project. We loved her book, Irreverent and now it seems that September will be the next time our Carine radars go into overdrive. She told WWD this week her new magazine will be launched then. They also found out the following...
"Although she couldn’t be pressed on the name, she said it will come out twice a year and resemble a book. There will be no “front of the book” section and its emphasis will be “fashion with a lot of freedom.”
Carine at the Chanel couture in Tokyo this week (image from www.wwd.com)
Karl in the pilot's seat on the Chanel jet plane (from www.wwd.com)
Chanel has decamped to Japan this week for a series of events to big up the brand in the Far East. Remember the airplane created for the January couture show in Paris? Well, that was transported to a Tokyo park for a repeat performance. Also on the agenda was a party to launch Karl Lagerfeld's collaboration with Carine Roitfeld on a photographic exhibition entitled "The Little Black Jacket'. Sarah Jessica Parker, with son in tow, and Alice Dellal were among those who've joined Chanel for the festivities.
Grazia's Paula Reed has been in Tokyo. Here are a few of her best pics...
Karl with his right hand woman, Lady Amanda Harlech
Clemence Poesy with the cherry blossom
A guest at the couture show in the traditional Japanese kimono (all images from Paula's instagram)
Barely a week goes by without some new comment on the photoshopping/body image debate, this week's most lovely contribution comes from The Economist's Intelligent Life magazine which has put Cate Blanchett on its cover, completely free from computer aided enhancement. Like she needed it anyway. This is what Intelligent Life editor, Tim de Lisle, had to say about the cover:
"Cate Blanchett, by contrast, appears on our cover in her working clothes, with the odd line on her face and faint bags under her eyes. She looks like what she is—a woman of 42, spending her days in an office, her evenings on stage and the rest of her time looking after three young children. We can’t be too self-righteous about it, because, like anyone else who puts her on a cover, we are benefiting from her beauty and distinction. But the shot is at least trying to reflect real life. It’s a curious sign of the times that this has become something to shout about"
Image from Intelligent Life
THINGS FOR THE WEEKEND:
Image from www.Vogue.co.uk
Tonight is Sport Relief in the UK. From a fashion perspective, that means Kate Moss, Stella McCartney and David Gandy on our screens in a special episode of Absolutely Fabulous. That has to be worth a donation, doesn't it?
I heard about the Horniman Museum's The Body Adorned exhibition earlier this week and I can't wait to go. I love walking around London, seeing what everyone is wearing and trying to identify all the style tribes. The Body Adorned looks at how Londonders have come to create their own trends and ways of standing out, as well as the history which has impacted on those decisions. Here's the trailer for the exhibition, I'll hopefully be reporting back from there sometime soon...
We can finally see series 5 of Mad Men from Tuesday on Sky Atlantic- hurrah! We love these ads from the 1960s which The New Yorker has dug up to get us even more excited about the return of Don, Joan and co. Have a wonderful sunny weekend!
What would she say about mantyhose?
Pyjamas to rival Stella's (all ads from www.newyorker.com)
This week's news begins with some of our favourite editorial images released in the past few days... Italian Vogue Editor-in-Chief Franca Sozzani has been shot by Terry Richardson and styled by Katie Grand for the cover on Industrie, the magazine which charts the lives of fashion's insiders.
Editor becomes model
Kate Moss is transformed into Ziggy Stardust for French Vogue's Music issue. Shot by Mert and Marcus.
Image from telegraph.co.uk
Resident Italian Vogue photographer Steven Meisel has captured Karlie Kloss in a series of nude and clothed contrasted images for the publication's January issue. Entitled 'Body by Kloss' , it's making us think twice before delving into the mince pies...
Transsexual model Lea T has scored her first major cover this month with Elle Brazil. She is dressed in Givenchy as designed by her good friend Riccardo Tisci.
When you work in the fashion industry, it soon becomes clear how many unspoken heroes there are behind the scenes; beautiful clothes cannot be created by one person alone although it is often easy to slip into that way of thinking when designers are superstars. Francois Lesage was one of those behind the scenes people. His death this week came after a long illness. However, Monsieur Lesage should be remembered for his fine mastery of haute couture embroidery. He leant his expertise to the creation of couture at the most esteemed Parisian houses including Christian Dior, Balenciaga, Chanel and Givenchy. In 2002, Chanel bought Maison Lesage in order to guarantee the survival of its unique contribution. French Cultural Minister Frédéric Mitterand told WWD this week: “He was one of those people who make you aware of the slim border between art and craft. He was also known for his generous spirit and waggish humour.”
RIP Francois Lesage.
Work by Maison Lesage- Yves Saint Laurent 1988
As our friends at Editd so astutely point out, the Versace x H&M collaboration has had huge effects across the world of fashion and had a huge uplift in social media awareness for Versace and Donatella. We have definitely seen how lots of the SS12 high street collections have been 'inspired' by the line, of which there's more to come in January. For their next partnership, H&M have chosen a much more fashion-insider brand, Marni.
Although editors frequently sing the praises of the label designed by Consuelo Castiglioni, it does not have the fame and brand power of Versace. Lots of people were pointing out on Twitter when the news broke on Monday that Marni would probably be confused with Armani by those who didn't know better! The collection which as with Versace majors on print, launches on March 8th. We expect rather a different queue to those Versace ones the other week.
Marni's designer Consuelo Castiglioni and H&M's Margareta van den Bosch style a model wearing a dress from the collection (image from vogue.co.uk)
I had a dig at Dame Vivienne Westwood a few weeks ago for what I perceived as her hypocrisy at launching stores in China and then supporting OCCUPY London. So, I was very pleased to hear this week that she has donated £1 million from her business to Cool Earth, a climate change charity which is campaigning to halt deforestation in Borneo, Peru and the Congo Basin. Westwood said 'Governments…are so slow that we can’t wait for them any more. We have to get this thing moving and hope that they’ll join in'.
It's no fun being extinct, says Vivienne Westwood
After winning Red Carpet Designer of the Year at the British Fashion Awards on Monday, Stella McCartney was happy to hand the limelight to Jennifer Saunders (in full Edina get-up) on Tuesday as she turned on the lights at Stella's Bruton Street store. Ever since the very first images of the forthcoming Ab Fab episodes were released, we've known that Eddie has transferred her Lacroix fixation to much a more now Stella addiction. Later, we learnt that Stella is going to be making a cameo appearance in one of the episodes, the first of which airs on Christmas Day. Oh we feel spoilt! And to whet your appetite for Ab Fab's return, a little teaser clip was released this week... Enjoy!
'Eddy' with Stella and Emma Bunton who both star in the new episodes (image from dailymail.co.uk)
Next week, Thirty Seven Feet , a new designer shoe hire concept, will be launching with a pop-up shoe emporium at the Old Truman Brewery to raise funds for charities such Small Steps and Muscular Dystrophy. There will be a launch event on Thursday evening which you can get tickets for by visiting the site. There are loads of exciting items up for grabs including pieces previously owned by celebrities and donated by top brands like Mulberry and Lanvin. We here at FEAL encourage you to pop along to make some purchases, all in the name of charity.
SHOPPING ROUND-UP...December is traditionally the time for many things, one of them is FASHION SAMPLE SALES. The FashEd tells me that they are not always great but if you get there early and with sharpened elbows you may get what you want. Here are a few we recommend.
On 8th December, creator of utterly divine shoes, Nicholas Kirkwood, will be holding a sample sale. Prices start at £25 (!) and doors are open from 10am. Be sure to get down to The Music Room, 26 South Molton Lane to get your hands on some beauties.
Nicholas Kirkwood SS12- sadly these won't be at the sample sale but items of similar fabulousness will be available
Barberini Fashions will be having a sample sale on 9th December (12pm-8pm) and 10th December (10pm-6pm) at Unit 7, Suna House, 65 Rivington Street. Some of the brands there include Pam Hogg, Ashley Isham and Magenta 8.
Erdem SS11 (image from catwalking.com)
LFW darling Erdem has a sample sale on December 8th (1pm-8pm) and December 9th (10am-6pm) at The Future Gallery, 5 Great Newport Street, WC2H 7HY. Prices start at £80 and the pieces will be from SS11 and before.
LFW darling no.2 Christopher Kane is getting in on the action too with a sale on 8th December from 1pm to 9pm at Mercer Street Studios, 16 Mercer Street, WC2H 9QE. Bring it on!
To see a full list may we direct you over to Susie Bubble's sample sale calendar.
